Life Goes On
by leabea17
Summary: the battle has been won and life has assumed the normalcy that Harry has always longed for. This is my version of what happened in the nineteen years unaccounded for by J. K. Rowling. please read and review!
1. September 21, 1999

Disclaimer: I (unfortunately) own none of these characters (except for Frieda the squib/realtor). They are the so and explicit property of the great and powerful J. K. Rowling.

* * *

It was unreasonably hot for so late in the year. The heat rose in dizzying waves off of the cobblestone streets of Godric's Hollow. The extraordinary height of the temperature had taken its toll on the town's two visitors, bringing them quite to the point where they were ready to return to the at least slightly cooler accommodations of the Burrow.

"There's just one more," Harry pleaded. "Please can we just get it all done today? We've already got the thing scheduled." Ginny grunted noncommittally which Harry decided to take as her consent, however disgruntled, and he took her by the arm and turned on the spot.

Ginny's fingers wrapped tightly in his own were the only thing real to him as they were swallowed by the pressing darkness. Harry felt the sensation of being suffocated; his chest begged for air as they were squeezed through time and space. Just as he thought that this time he might truly explode his lungs expanded gratefully and his feat were once more on solid ground.

They were standing behind a restaurant, vacated and closed for the evening. The place looked out over the rocky shore of Tinworth and was, Harry knew, the small town's only real commercial establishment besides a combination pharmacy and grocery at the town's center (muggle owned).

Ginny's mood seemed to lighten considerably as a rush of cool salty air came off of the water, breaking the hold of the afternoon heat. It was easily 10 degrees colder down by the water, a wonderful attribute during the months of brutal English summer but perhaps more of a punishment than a relief when one considered the long and equally harsh winters that were the summer's eternal companion.

However, Bill and Fleur did nothing but rave about their own location on the outskirts of the town; enough in fact to draw Harry there when searching for his own home. Harry and Ginny had looked here once previously and had found a cottage similar to theirs, lying on the opposite side of town. This cottage was, in fact, the reason for their return. The village was surrounded on three sides my water, a peninsula, which would allow them to potentially live on the water like Bill and Fleur but at a distance great enough to allow them privacy and safety from the relatives.

Because there was no sheltered place where they could safely apparate beyond the restaurant, they would travel the rest of the distance on foot. Though Tinworth was home to a fair number of wizarding families they were not its only inhabitants and there was really no need to startle the blissfully ignorant muggles. Ginny was no longer pouting; relieved by the comforting cool of the ocean and having remembered just how much she had liked this place on their first visit. Excitement quickly possessed her at the idea of a second look at the cottage and a second chance to try to persuade Harry to at least seriously consider making a purchase.

The house was three stories tall, considerably larger than her brothers, and made mostly of weathered stone and white washed paneling. The roof and porch were neatly trimmed with a delicate moulding that looked as if it hade been made with a cookie cutter. The total affect of the cottage made Ginny think of he happy little houses she had once seen as a child in a muggle travel magazine. The caption below the photograph explained them to be on a vineyard island of the east cost of the United States and, to her utter disbelief, claimed that they were made of gingerbread!

The house lay about three miles beyond the town itself yet it was certainly far from isolated. Several other houses lined the street, most of which were homes to families. Hannah Abbot, a Hufflepuff of Harry's year and member of the DA lived just three houses down with her new husband.

When they finally reached the house the realtor was waiting for them just beyond the fence, bouncing eagerly on the balls of her feet. She extended a hand to Harry and he shook it smiling.

"Mr. Potter I presume?" she squeaked, clearly delighted by situation at hand. Harry nodded.

"And you're Frieda." She stared at him open mouthed and beaming, her mouth lolling slightly open as she nodded. Ginny thrust forward her own hand as well.

"Ginny Weasley," she said loudly and the woman took it in turn, blushing wildly at her blatant display of star-stricken rudeness.

"Well," she said her voice now at a slightly more normal pitch as she recomposed herself. "I understand that you have seen the house once before?" Harry nodded. "Good, good! Excellent! Than you are considering a purchase?"

"We'll see," Harry answered, grinning at Ginny.

Now some things you should know about this lovely home: it is, in its entirety, connected to the floo network. This means that each of its three fireplaces can be accessed. There is an apparation charm on the house as well so until it altered or lifted there will be no apparating in or out." They followed Frieda the realtor through the house for a second time and pretended to listen oh so intently as she spoke for nearly half an hour without once employing punctuation of any sort.

"Think she's met many celebrities?" Ginny whispered. "Maybe she'll ask you to sign her Harry Potter poster!" She could hardly suppress the fit of giggles induced by her own hilarity.

"Lay off her," Harry said. "She's cravin' a bit o' connection with our world. I only found her through an old neighbor, she's a squib." Ginny tried very hard to be serious but by now she was beyond help. She quickly excused herself to take another tour alone of the second floor.

"Frieda, you were brilliant! She has no idea!" Harry told the blushing woman. She ran her hands back across her hair, smoothing her neat and shiny bun.

"No! I would say she doesn't!" she agreed. She led Harry to one of the houses only pieces of furniture, a shiny mahogany dining table. There, she spread out her paperwork and Harry proceeded to sign and initial wherever instructed. "Congratulations Mr. Potter! You are now the proud owner of your own home! And quite a lovely one too if I may say so myself!" She handed him a set of keys, a stack of home owner's guides and instruction manuals and the deed to the cottage.

"Thanks mate." Harry grinned at her. "Now er, if its alright id like to er, you know, have a second alone with-"

OH! OH! Of course you would!" Frieda giggled. "I'm as good as gone! If you have any questions please don't hesitate to call!" She talked all the way out the front door, walking backwards so as to keep him in view a bit longer.

"I will" he promised as he followed her outside, smiling and waving from the front walk way..

"Gin!" he called once he was satisfied that the realtor was a safe distance away. "C'mere!" He stashed the papers in his robe pocket and waited, his arms crossed across his chest.

"Yeah?" she said appearing in the doorway.

"C'mere" he beckoned again. She grinned and cantered down the front steps. He wrapped his arms around her and they stood together facing the house. "So what do you think?" he asked, pressing his face against the side of her neck.

"It's perfect" she breathed. Harry could feel her cheeks pull up into a grin.

"Well, see, here's the thing. It's not exactly on the market right now."

She twisted to look at him, her eyebrows raised. "What do you mean it's not on the market? The place is empty and a bloody realtor is going around showing it!"

"Well the owners just now decided that it isn't for sale any more." Ginny's face fell, her disappointment immediately apparent. She turned back to face the house and slumped a little against Harry's chest.

"It's really no for sale?"

"Nope." Harry grinned and rested his chin on the top of her head. "It's not for sale. Because I bought it."

* * *

A/N: Please review! I want honnest opinions (however harsh they may be) because quite honnestly, at this point im not sure wheather or not _I _even like this story. It is quite different from what i would usually do but i am a diehard Harry Potter fan so i decided to give it a go. Thanks for reading.


	2. October 2, 1999

**October 2, 1999**

"Harry! Can you get the last one?" Ginny called from just beyond the front door. She shuffled into the kitchen, the weight of her parcel forcing her to waddle like a duck all the way to the kitchen table where she dropped it none to gently. There was nasty clinking of china from within and she winced. "Oops."

"I think I've just broken Mum's house warming gift," she called as Harry lumbered in after her, closing the door with door behind him with the toe of his trainer. He smirked at her and dropped his own box on the table beside hers. Something inside shattered.

"I just broke Percy's." Ginny grinned.

"Good. Now I haven't got to pretend that I've lost it. I can just tell him it was broken in the move. It really was an awful piece."

'Well that was the last of it." Harry pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, pulling Ginny with him. She fell into his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I need a work break," she announced, kissing his nose.

"No. No, my lazy love, we've got furniture to put together! Rooms to paint!"

"It can wait." Harry kissed her back, short and sweet. Then he pried her bottom loose of his lap and leapt from his own perch to stand beside her. She tried to kiss him again but just as she started to get into it he pulled away.

"Nope, none of that. Work before play sweetheart." Ginny gave him a seething look but followed him none-the-less back to the doorway where the pieces in need of assembly stood stacked and waiting.

"Fine," she conceded. "Tonight we can do our bedroom, but the rest can wait until tomorrow."

"Don't you think we aught to start where people will actually be looking?"

"That is where we'll be looking," she chortled gleefully. Harry clenched his teeth, determined to resist, as tempting as this suggestion might be.

"Not until we've done the living room and the foyer its not," he promised, mustering all of his self-restraint in doing so. "Besides there is not _our_ bedroom." He teased. " I promised your mum you'd have your own room here. That's the only reason she's even letting you stay with me."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Harry my mums not stupid. She doesn't actually think I'm gona sleep in my own room. And she's not _letting_ me live here. I'm an adult. I make my own decisions."

Annoyed but left with little other choice she gave in and they set to work, magicing together what they could; furniture-wise at least. Ginny insisted that if she was to be forced to labor the work would be done "right" and the walls painted the muggle way: by hand.

By the time they had finished the two rooms the sun and the moon had traded places and the clear black sky was peppered with stars. "I'm done," Ginny announced as she flopped onto the couch. "No more." Harry sat beside her and pulled her into his arms.

"I though you wanted to do the bedroom tonight." She shook her head.

"We can just sleep on the mattress on the floor, if that's ok with you? Just for tonight?" He nodded his consent.

"I'll get it set up love." He kissed her forehead and flicked his wand at the king-sized mattress propped up against the stairs. It followed him up to the second floor, levitating just a few inches off the ground. Ginny stood up and stretched. "Ey Gin! Bring up the sheets would ya' love?"

She grabbed them along with the stack of pillows beside them and joined him in the master bedroom. Harry had set the mattress in the center of the room, just across from the hearth which now held a blooming fire that illuminated the entire room. Ginny smiled to herself and unfolded the sheets. "Harry?" she called.

"Yeah, I'm in the loo love. You wana make the bed?" She sighed and set to work again, shaking the sheets out before tucking them neatly into place. It wasn't until she reached the last pillow case that something fell to the floor as she shook, released from the folds of the fabric.

The little black box rolled across the room and lay there before the now blazing fire. She walked over and picked it up. It was soft; a jewelry box Ginny knew from the little experience she had with this sort of thing. "Harry?" she called again. He was leaning against the door frame, arms crossed and a smug look painted on his face. She shook the box at him.

"Well, are you gona open it?" he asked.

"It's for me?" Harry chuckled. She looked at him uncertainty, expectantly, but he didn't answer her. She cocked her head to the side. He raised his eyebrows.

"Well if you don't want it…" Harry grinned and took a step towards her, his hand extended. Ginny popped it open.

Inside was a ring; beautiful and diamond incrusted. Ginny's breath caught in her throat.

"Oh my god," she whispered. "Harry." Her hand slid to her mouth.

"Do you- " The look on her face silenced him. "Gin-" He crouched beside her by the fire and their eyes locked together. "Do you remember when I promised I'd stay with you forever? Well I meant it. It hurts when I'm away from you Gin. I—" Ginny was on top of him, her hands twisted tightly into his hair. She was kissing him like she's never kissed him. It was better than their first kiss in Gryffindor Tower. Better than when shed kissed him after the Battle at Hogwarts. It was better even than the kiss they'd shared so long ago in her bedroom at the Burrow.

With great effort, Harry wrenched himself away. "Marry me, Gin." It didn't come out quite as Harry intended; less of a question and more of a command, but Ginny didn't care. She pressed her forehead against his and held his face in both of her hands.

"I will," she whispered, nodding her head. "I will." Harry took her and slid the ring onto her finger. He kissed every finger on her hand before picking her up in his arms and carrying her to the mattress.

**. . .**

The next day was Sunday. The clock on the wall read 10:00 when Harry opened his eyes. He leaned over and kissed his fiancé on the nose and she stirred, rolling over to face him. Her eyes flickered open and she smiled up at him. She sat up and stretched her arms up above her head and yawned, exposing her bare chest to Harry. He grinned and kissed her bellybutton. He kissed all the way up to her lips where he stayed for a while, his arms twisting around her and pulling her as close as he could.

"EY! Ya' ruddy flippin' git! What in the bloody hell do you think you're doing 'aving off with my sister?" Harry's head shot up and his eyes shot to the disembodied head that had appeared in the fireplace. He grabbed Ginny and pulled her around behind her, shielding her from the view of her brother whose cheeks had turned an angry enough that they matched his hair.

"Ron!" Ginny screamed. "Get out!"

"You know there are some things you just can't unsee ya foul arse!" The brunt of his anger was directed at Harry.

"Well then you shouldn't a' busted into someone's bedroom unannounced at bloody 10 am!" Ron had squeezed his eyes closed tightly in a last desperate attempt to shield himself from the image before him but his mouth was still working as well as ever.

"I didn't know it'd take me to your bedroom! I said '_Harry's House_' and it brought me here. Don't you have any other fireplace in this house?" Then Harry remembered the realtor… _the whole house is connected to the floo network._

"Right," he said, a little embarrassed. "Ill get on that. Now get out!"

"Wait, hold on a sec. I came to deliver a message. Mum wants everyone home for dinner tonight. 5:30." Ron squeezed his eyes closed a little bit tighter and made a gagging noise. Ginny made an exasperated noise and, covering herself with one arm, whipped a pillow at the fireplace. It hit her brother squarely in the face. "Alright! I'm leaving! Believe me I don't wana be here any more than you want me to be."

With that Ron disappeared and the pillow fell into the still smoldering fireplace and began so burn. "Shit," Ginny muttered. "Aguamenti." A jet of water shot from her wand and doused the spreading fire. Then with another flick of her wand a fancy wooden room divider appeared in front of the fire place.

"Now," she said. "Where were we?"


End file.
